Song Saa: Co-creating an industry voice to grow the field of regeneration
In 2005, Melita Koulmandas stumbled upon two small islands in Cambodia’s Koh Rong Archipelago. The islands, called Song Saa captivated her and, together with the island locals, the regeneration of the severely depleted area began.
Today, Song Saa Private Island and Song Saa Foundation are award-winning regenerative initiatives and Melita Koulmandas is a sought-after figure at global industry events. She has been featured in prominent publications, telling the story of how these islands became a beacon for regenerative tourism and a movement beyond sustainability.
Services provided
Strategic messaging development and positioning
Interview and media response writing
Presentation content development
Award submission writing
Communications strategy and planning
How do we invite people into a new way of being?
How do we share regeneration with people who have never set foot on Song Saa? Melita wanted to use her voice to show that we can move beyond sustainability and actually regenerate places and communities.
We knew that if just one person in an audience, or reading an interview, glimpsed what was possible when business, community, and nature work in harmony, that was success.
The challenge
My role
Developing a way forward
Melita’s role is multifaceted. As CEO of multiple organisations and a regenerative advocate, her schedule is demanding. She’s also deeply committed to growing the field of regeneration by inviting people into Song Saa’s story of transformation.
My role wasn’t to market Song Saa as a high-end resort, it was to help Melita tell stories of regeneration that could invite people into experiencing a transformative shift, even in a small way.
We knew that if just one person in an audience, or reading an interview, glimpsed what was possible when business, community, and nature work in harmony, that was success.
As with all regenerative communication, the challenge lies in telling stories that spark imagination and activate people, while making complex ideas feel real and accessible.
The context
A vision rooted in place
From the beginning, the Song Saa vision was about redefining how we relate to and contribute to a place—not just by minimizing harm, but by actively fostering the vitality of ecosystems, communities, and cultural heritage.
The Song Saa Foundation, established in 2012, became the heart of this effort. Some of its work includes:
Co-creating Cambodia’s first marine protected area.
Implementing solid waste management systems across the archipelago.
Supporting local education and healthcare initiatives.
Developing sustainable livelihood programs.
Preserving traditional Khmer culture.
The resort itself, Song Saa Private Island, was designed to fund these efforts and regenerate people’s approach to tourism and travel. It reflects a deep respect for place and emphasizes healing—of people, communities, and ecosystems. Built using local materials and traditional techniques, it incorporates recycled and reclaimed elements. Local communities were not just employed but empowered as stewards and collaborators in regeneration.
How we got there
The process of telling a regenerative story
How could we articulate this narrative in a way that sparked interest in regeneration, a topic that can sometimes feel academic or inaccessible, without oversimplifying its complexity?
We settled on a communication approach that was:
Invitational: drawing people in without pushing or alienating.
Adaptable: resonating with diverse audiences, from industry leaders to casual travellers.
Meaningful: translating complex regenerative concepts into engaging, accessible stories.
Activating: replacing urgency and fear with curiosity, possibility, inspiration, and action.
Reflections and key learnings
My collaboration with Melita and Song Saa illuminated how communication can serve as a bridge between current reality and emerging potential. By grounding our work in the essence of place and people, we helped make visible the deeper patterns of regeneration already at work.
The learnings from this continue to inform and evolve our understanding of how communication can enable regenerative development:
Authenticity as a cornerstone
Grounding messaging in the essence of Song Saa’s place, people, and work ensured the narrative felt genuine and resonated widely.Transformation through storytelling
Stories of regeneration—both ecological and human—proved to be powerful tools for making complex concepts relatable and inspiring action.Bridging complexity with clarity
While meeting every audience’s needs is a challenge, having a story library and a strategy made it much simpler to adapt to where the audience was at.
The outcomes
Recognition + industry impact
Our collaboration yielded significant outcomes. I helped craft interview responses, develop stories, interactive exercises, and create compelling talking points and messaging. These elements supported Melita’s presence across a wide range of media and industry opportunities, including awards, conferences, and publications.
Media coverage & industry recognition
National Geographic, Forbes, Monocle, Harpers Bazaar Art China
Channel Nine Travel Australia, Tatler Asia, B Corp
HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards 2024 finalist
Winner of Change-Makers PURE Life Experiences IMPACT Award for Conservation 2023
Industry Leadership
Climate Week NYC presentations and panels
Destination Mekong Summit keynote
PURE Innovation Lab participation
University guest lectures
Monocle Hospitality Panel contributions
Our collaborative journey
Asking better questions
Regenerative communication begins with thoughtful questions. For Song Saa, we began by asking:
What does it look like to grow understanding of regeneration among diverse audiences?
What makes regeneration feel alive in spoken, written, and visual formats?
How do we invite people into a new way of being—leading, traveling, working—without overwhelming them?
What are the authentic aspects of this place and its people that might resonate?
How do we balance communicating complexity with accessibility?
These questions guided the communication, ensuring it was grounded in authenticity while being expansive enough to engage varied audiences.
Telling a 360° story
Effective regenerative communication isn’t always simply explaining information, like principles—it can also bring people into relationship with living systems. We crafted stories that included not only human perspectives but also the voices of local ecosystems, such as the ancient mangroves, weaving them into narratives of interconnected vitality.
Developing a flexible storytelling toolkit
We developed flexible messaging that could evolve with Song Saa's work. This included:
A story library capturing transformations across human and ecological systems
Metaphors drawn from on-the-ground experiences
Messaging and real-world examples adaptable for audiences ranging from policymakers to travellers
Crafting an invitational approach
Traditional sustainability narratives often lean on urgency and fear. Instead, we crafted an approach centered on possibility and potential, inviting audiences to envision what’s possible. This involved:
Meeting people where they are in their understanding
Using storytelling to make principles tangible and engaging
Inspiring next steps by focusing on opportunity rather than shortcomings or deficiencies
Curious about regenerating your brand and communications?
If you’re ready to explore how I can help you tell some new stories about your work, pick one of these options to get started:
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